Toru Yano beat Yujiro Takahashi with a low blow. This was a heel vs heel match and they spent the whole match trying to break the rules and not get caught. The crowd liked it and it was probably better than a straight match with these two.

2. G1 Climax – Block B: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Karl Anderson

Karl Anderson won with a cutter out of an Anaconda Vice Bomb. Good match here. They kept it moving, the crowd was hot and I loved Tenzan busting out the Anaconda Vice Bomb. The finish made perfect sense and this was much better than expected. Rating:***

3. G1 Climax – Block B: Yuji Nagata vs. Shelton Benjamin

Shelton Benjamin won with a grounded ankle lock. This was actually pretty good. They kept this short and Shelton attacked from the start. His top rope belly to belly made perfect sense and all his spots actually had a reason for a change. He pretty much got all the offense in minus some kicks and got the win.

4. G1 Climax – Block A: Satoshi Kojima vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr.

Davey Boy Smith Jr. beat Satoshi Kojima with a ligerbomb. Strong match here. Kojima was super fired up and DBSJ was great as he has been all tournament. They started off slow with submissions, picked it up with strikes then let loose for a good finish. Kojima was super fired up here and DBSJ was so great in his role as a heel. Rating:***1/2

5. G1 Climax – Block A: Tomohiro Ishii vs. Katsuyori Shibata

Tomohiro Ishii beat Katsuyori Shibata with a brainbuster in a classic. This was really really good. The stiffness, aggression and passion was off the charts here and they really pulled out all the stops. They absolutely beat the crap out of each other and they just went at it super hard. I loved this match and this is easily one of my favorite matches of the year. I loved their early sequence with them both bull rushing each other and I loved Shibata's nasty forearms. Ishii sold so well too and sold in ways I haven't seen done before. If you want a violent, real man's fight, this is the one you want to watch. This was absolutely unforgettable and definitely must see. Rating:*****

6. G1 Climax – Block A: Hirooki Goto vs. Lance Archer

Hirooki Goto won with the odd pin above. Decent match but it didn't get enough time. Goto showed tons of fire and Archer was good in his strong gaijin bully role.

7. G1 Climax – Block B: Tetsuya Naito vs. Minoru Suzuki

Tetsuya Naito won wit ha stardust press. Good match here. They slapped each other silly and Naito sold well. I liked the trickery between the two and each of them pulling out moves from nowhere. I loved the facials and personality interactions too. Rating:***1/2

8. G1 Climax – Block A: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Prince Devitt

Prince Devitt beat Hiroshi Tanahashi with a high angle DDT after Karl Anderson interfered. This was somehow a good match amongst all of the shenanigans going on. Tons and tons of interference here but Tanahashi was really good as a face and timed his moves out well. The crowd loved it and it really helped things. Just a shame as this could have been really special without all the crap. Rating:***1/2

9. G1 Climax – Block A: Togi Makabe vs. Kazuchika Okada

Togi Makabe beat Kazuchika Okada with the King Kong Knee Drop. Great match. The crowd was super hot and Makabe had one of his best performances ever as the madman trying to drop Okada. Okada was good here too as the cocky heel and they really had a nice match without doing anything too crazy. The crowd made this though as did Makabe's facials. Rating:***1/2

10. G1 Climax – Block B: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Kota Ibushi

Shinsuke Nakamura beat Kota Ibushi with the Boma-Ye. Good match as expected. Kota sold well with some new bumps and Nakamura was really great at being explosive. Kota busted out some different stuff than usual and I really liked his palm strikes. They really went all out here and it was pretty much as good as expected. The crowd was super hot and really helped this along. Rating:****

Rankings:

Overall thoughts: Well what can you say. This was a great show and literally everything was good here. NJPW booked this really well as they put the stuff that wouldn't be so good out first while saving the good stuff for top half. However, the stuff that wasn't supposed to be that good was and therefore made for a great card. Everyone really performed well and the Shibata/Ishii match is a MOTYC and might be my runner up for MOTY. Definitely see this show as it's one of NJPW's best.